Sunday Morning

Some pretty remarkable things happened in the basketball world yesterday. Appalachian State fell to lowly Elon. Davidson overcame Wofford with freshmen. And UNC got killed by Virginia Tech. Then came back and almost won. And then lost again at the end. Here are some "observations" (Kevin Cary-style) from Saturday:

-Despite what you might hear about SoCon refereeing on Saturday nights, one undefeated home team (App) had a big call go against them late in the game. After clawing their way back into a low-scoring contest, Elon fouled the heck out of an App St. player driving to the hole with under a minute to play. The Mountaineers turned the ball over and Elon was given the chance to win. Sometimes the home court isn't so much of an advantage.

-Virginia Tech became the first team in a long time (perhaps ever?) to knock off both Duke and North Carolina in one week in basketball. Right up the highway in College Park, Maryland shot over 60% to down the once-undefeated Tigers of Clemson. It looks like ACC basketball might have some parity after all.

-In an NFL-related note, I am still apalled by Andy Reid's decision to punt the ball on 4th and 15 last night. The Eagles were down by a FG with two minutes remaining, and they had just gone for it on 4th and 10, but the play was called back for a false start penalty. If you are willing to put yourself on the line on 4th and 10, why not 4th and 15? The Saints were then able to run out the clock. Not that I wasn't pulling for the Saints all along, but it was a still a stupid move by Reid. Maybe the whole thing was rigged after all.

-After Saturday's games, The Citadel moved into third place in the South Division of the Southern Conference, only one game behind the College of Charleston and ahead of both Furman and Georgia Southern. In the North division, Western Carolina is now tied with Appalachian State for first place. I was definitely the only person who predicted Western Carolina to be this good, although I just about screwed up on everything else.

-Finally, I am very upset at the Davidson housing operation. I am burning up in my room because the system can't turn on any cold air until at least March. This 70-degree weather isn't doing much for my new winter wardrobe. Oh well.

Davidson at Arizona State

Countdown is under two hours now for the championship game of the Sleep America Classic between the Davidson Wildcats and the Arizona State Sun Devils. ASU is coached by Herb Sendek who instituted a Princeton-style offense while at N.C. State. In the past few seasons, some of Davidson's toughest games have been against teams that have slowed down the offensive flow of the game and limited the Wildcats to fewer shot attempts. Davidson will either have to go crazy on the offensive boards, create transition points off of turnovers, or raise their shooting percentage. They won't be scoring anywhere near 80 points in this game if they shoot under 40% from the field.

The Wildcats showed some fatigue during last night's game as there were stretches in the first and second halves when they allowed Ohio to work their way back into the game through turnovers and missed rebounding opportunities. Davidson can't afford to be sloppy against a team that slows the game down and limits opportunities to score. It will be interesting to see how fatigue affects this one.

Look for increased minutes from Steve Rossiter, Bryant Barr, Andrew Lovedale and Will Archambault as the Wildcats try to use their depth to counteract fatigue and (if we get the same whistle-happy refs as yesterday) foul trouble. While Coach McKillop might try some pressure defense to create turnovers in the passing lanes, don't be surprised to see the Wildcats briefly come out in zone looks after timeouts. They have been very effective in messing with set plays and keeping the offenses off guard.

Final Prediction: Davidson 70 Arizona State 62